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Editors' Choice: Top Five 2013 Shanghai Motor Show Debuts

Want proof that the Shanghai Motor Show is gradually becoming more and more important with each passing year? Up until now, our coverage of the Chinese expo has never been as in-depth as it was for 2013, and this post marks our first round of Editors' Choice picks for the show.

Sure, a lot of what we're seeing in Shanghai will never come to the United States, and a lot of it is purely conceptual, but because the Chinese auto market is growing at an incredible rate, more and more automakers are lining up big debuts for this show. Because of that, there's a lot to talk about regarding Shanghai, and we've tallied up our votes to give you the five (okay, six – there was a tie for fifth place) best unveilings from this past weekend's expo. Scroll down to check them out, and sound off with your own personal opinions in the comments.

When we first spied the Hongqi L9 sitting pimp-like on its enormous white carpet, we knew that we would need to share it with Autoblog readers – as a curiosity if nothing else. But the more we studied the Hongqi behemoth, the more we all started to dig its retro-meets-super-luxury style. Meant for Chinese politicos of the highest rank, the L9 has major gravitas that is nicely balanced with quirky detailing like the red flag hood ornament, and, of course, those crazy headlamp surrounds. More than enough flavor for the L9 to tie as one of our favorite cars in China. (Oh, and for the record, the Hongqi name is pronounced more like "hon-she" than "honkey" – disappointing to some of you, we know.)

Though hardly the newest car on the Shanghai show floor, this conceptual version of the next Renault Alpine was nevertheless one of the biggest draws at the show. The bullet-fast bodywork, racing livery and exotically curved rear fascia all helped to make the A110-50 a favorite amongst the Autoblog editorial cadre, too. 400 horsepower from a mid-mounted V6 would certainly offer performance to live up to the Alpine legend, should Renault move forward with a similarly powered road-going version.

When we finally saw the one-off Icona Vulcano in the metal, we were awfully impressed with the work done by this heretofore unheard-of engineering company. Sure, the supercar styling is a little bit derivative – there's a lot of Lexus LFA and Ferrari 599 to be seen here – but the powerful haunches, exaggerated waistline and overall proportions are still pretty stunning to behold. The Vulcano is nothing more than a technology and styling demonstrator at this point, but we love the idea of the sexy sled turning all four wheels with turbo V6 and twin electric motor power. (The optional V12 doesn't sound bad, either.) One of the most stylish stands at Shanghai this year, to be sure.

We've always been fans of the Maserati Quattroporte, so it comes as little surprise that a downsized take on the Italian marque's performance sedan ethos would score high on our list of showstoppers from Shanghai. With the choice of a turbocharged V6 boasting 330 horsepower or a twin-turbocharged V6 spitting out 410 ponies, this beautiful and slinky Ghibli is sure to attract a few buyers that would otherwise have ended up in Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benzdealerships.

It's rare to see a new vehicle from Buick capture enough votes from the Autoblog staff to earn inclusion onto one of our best-of-show wrapup posts. Which is why it's so refreshing to see the Riviera Concept and the new direction it hopefully previews from Buick. Looking past the gee-whiz technology – wireless charging and holographic video displays – we see a modern take on personal luxury that Buick would do well to tap into.

Well done, Mercedes-Benz. The Concept GLA has taken the top spot on our list of the best cars from Shanghai, thanks to its unique blend of production readiness, show-stopping technology that includes laser-beam headlights and just enough never-gonna-happen-but-wish-it-would futurism to make us take second and third glances before actually wrapping our heads around it. We'll go ahead and take the Concept GLA exactly as it was shown in Shanghai to be added as a daily driver to our Autoblog Fantasy Garage.

Incidentally, Mercedes is on an impressive roll these days. At almost every major auto show so far this season (the brand didn't have any big new debuts in Chicago), Mercedes has managed to put one of its machines on our list of the top five cars of the show. In addition to the GLA, which wins top honors from the Autoblog staff from Shanghai, the CLA45 AMG from New York, CLA from Detroit and SLS AMG Black Series from LA have all garnered accolades from our crew.

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So... how'd we arrive at this list? Autoblog editors picked their favorites of the show, with each editor having a total of 25 points to distribute amongst their picks. All 25 points had to be used, and no more than 10 points could be awarded to any one car. Basically, instead of just lining them up one-through-five, this allows us to put more weight on the cars that we think were really special. And in case you were wondering, here's how the points broke down for each of the top five six:

Part of the fun of doing this list is seeing what each individual staff member votes for. And since this is a point-based list, there are always a good number of cars that don't quite make the Top Five cut. Here's a look at the other things we liked from Shanghai.

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I love me some Buick, but that Riviera does not deserve to be in the top 5. If it ever gets to production, it will look *nothing* like that. The ground clearance is far too low, the wheels are ridiculously huge with non-existant tires, there's no doorhandles or side mirrors, and there's no B-pillars. I mean, if you're going to go all crazy like this, at least come up with something attractive.
Remember the Chevy Volt concept? That looked far more likely to go into production, and we all know how that turned out. You think this will fare better?

I absolutely love the L9, that thing is ridiculously sweet! It is so hard with today's technology to build a car with a vintage look that doesn't look silly. I really like it though, I think the only thing that could use upgrading are the rims. I could love to see something that matches the rest of the chrome. I honestly hate Mercedes GLA, it just isn't appealing to me. Is it an SUV? Is it a hatchback? Is it a mini-van? The world may never know. I like SUVs that look like SUVs, and too many luxury car brands are ruining the SUV.

#5a: A year or two ago I would have said it was Kim Jong Illin'.
#5b: Renault with a "sports car" that's not a 5-door hatch? About as likely as a French economic recovery.
#4: Unheard of engineering company comes up with pretty design that never rolls on its own power. I've seen this headline before.
#3: I'm sorry but that Buick is a pipe dream, much the way every concept has been coming out of Buick for the last 20-30 years.
#2: The Maserati Gigli might be one of the better looking four-door sports cars out there these days, but that's not saying much.
#1: Mercedes does the EX37 right.